Updated 3:18 pm, Friday, December 14, 2012

“I never go out of my way to eat it, but there have been so many occasions where I didn't realize what I was eating until I was done, and then thought, 'Oh, that's so delicious,'” she says.

The 29-year-old San Antonio native had many occasions for adventurous eating during the five years she spent in Thailand after graduating from Texas A&M University. “With $600 in my bank account and a job I found on the Internet, I bought a one-way ticket,” Dobbertin says.

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The experience formed not only who she is today, but also what she likes to eat. “I earned a graduate degree, worked for several nonprofits, traveled throughout Southeast Asia,” she says. “And, I ate a lot.”

Never one to seek out Michelin-star restaurants, Dobbertin says she's partial to “street foods” when she travels. “I always think what the peasants eat is the best. They are so innovative in using every part of the animal and vegetable and are so creative with their flavors,” she says.

Missing Asian street flavors after her return, she began to re-create her cravings. “I wanted fermented sausage, so I played around with it until I got the flavors right,” she says.

The adventures in her kitchen eventually stirred up Dobbertin's most recent leap of faith — leaving a beloved job in Alzheimer's care to dive into the homemade soup business. We Both Love Soup (the company name is a line from one of Dobbertin's favorite movies, “Best in Show”) began as a small project delivering 20 quarts of soup to friends. After only nine weeks, the one-woman operation is dishing out 80 quarts a week while keeping a soup lover's waiting list.

Dobbertin, who also works on the line at Hot Joy, the pop-up restaurant at The Monterey on Sundays and Mondays, says soup love is universal. “It's a dish found in every cuisine in the world. It's laborious, but when you need a pick-me-up, it's one of the go-to dishes. I feel like it has healing properties,” she says.

We Both Love Soups offers two soup varieties a week at $25 for two quarts and $15 for two pints; prices are discounted with bimonthly or monthly subscriptions. At least one, and sometimes both, are vegetarian. Some are vegan. Recent offerings include Sengalese peanut, spiced pumpkin and — back by popular demand — a wild rice and mushroom chowder.

“Every week she makes my new favorite,” says Katie Tottenham, a local real estate agent and devoted Dobbertin client from Day One. “It's healthy and fresh, and the flavor profiles are different. It's not anything you'd expect,” she says.

Also key — convenience. Two quarts will get Tottenham through four meals, and Dobbertin delivers (in a limited area). “I love finding the treat at my door. You feel like you're having this super fancy meal even though you heated it up on the stovetop.”

Research and, ultimately, her mood determine Dobbertin's menu. “I love nostalgic soups. I made a great Thai rice soup called Khao Tom. The broth is a nice chicken stock, and I steep some ginger and lemongrass in it,” she says.

Weekly soup selections are posted on Thursday on We Both Love Soup's Facebook page, facebook.com/WeBothLoveSoup, and can be ordered at webothlovesoup@gmail.com or by calling 512-586-3751. Blood soup is not on the menu.

Claudia Zapata is a registered dietitian. Her column appears every other Sunday in Taste. Email her at czhealth@gmail.com and follow her on Twitter at @ClaudiaZapata and on Facebook at Claudia Zapata, MS, RD.